Sergio Garcia put up a commanding performance to win the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday. He led from wire-to-wire, but that final round battle against Henrik Stenson alone was worth its weight in gold. It was like two heavyweight boxers going at each other, until one of them made a tiny mistake late into the fight and settled the issue.

I thought both played fantastic golf during the final round. The conditions were not the easiest, especially on the front nine which was playing into a lot of crosswind, and that really was going to be a key stretch. For Henrik to get his hand on the trophy for the second time, he needed to start well, and then hope that Sergio made a few mistakes. That never happened.

Henrik was solid on the front nine with one birdie, but he really needed a couple more. Garcia, in fact, increased the gap with two birdies in the front nine without any issues, and when he did get into trouble, like on the eighth hole, he responded in brilliant fashion by making a par.

On the back nine, Sergio made only one birdie, but that proved to be the killer blow. Henrik was getting hot with three birdies and a bogey in his first five holes, and approaching the exciting last four holes of Majlis, where anything can happen, the momentum seemed to be with him.

But the par-3 15th changed it all. It is one tough hole on the course, where I refuse to chase pins. I’d rather aim for the middle of the green and two-putt for par. Henrik overshot the green and paid a huge price with a bogey, while Sergio hit a stunning six-iron to two feet for a birdie.

With his four-shot lead restored, and with Sergio making no mistakes, it was all over for Henrik.

Both Sergio and Henrik were definitely lucky, given they played early morning on Thursday and late on Friday when the second round got suspended. They then return to complete the round in perfect weather conditions on Saturday morning. That really is the luck of the draw — it goes in your favour at times, and sometimes, it doesn’t.

The European Tour next moves to Kuala Lumpur for the Maybank Championship. Danny Willett and Lee Westwood are just some of the European stars in the field, but I will back one of the Asian Tour players to emerge champion, given how comfortable they have become in these join-sanctioned events.

We have a big Indian contingent in the tournament, and I would not put anything past Anirban Lahiri to win again in Malaysia. The last time he played in this country — he finished third to Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama — the two hottest players in the world in the past six months. He is making a lot of birdies, so perhaps now is his chance.

(Jeev Milkha Singh is a four-time champion on the European Tour)